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About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in jo... (More)

About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in journalism. Though my first love is journalism, food is a close second. I am constantly on the lookout for new restaurants to try, building an ever-expanding "to eat" list. As a journalist, I'm always trolling news sources and social media websites with an eye for local food news, from restaurant openings and closings to emerging food trends. When I was a teenager growing up in Menlo Park, I always drove up to the city on weekends with the singular purpose of finding a better meal than I could at home. But in the past year or so, the Peninsula's food culture has been totally transformed, with many new restaurants opening and a continuous stream of San Francisco restaurants coming south to open Peninsula outposts. Don't navigate this food boom hungry and alone! Feed me your tips on new chefs and eats and together we'll share them with the broader community. (Hide)

alkymists was a personal passion project for Fassiotti, a native of France who came to the Bay Area after a long restaurant and philanthropy career in Los Angeles. The restaurant served world-fusion food and planned to host free monthly brunches for low-income, battered or homeless women and their children, as well as teach them about nutrition and health. (Read a Sept. 26 feature I wrote on alkymists: Doing good with food)

Dvornik did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The 3,926-square-foot space (and its Type 47 liquor license) is officially on the market, listed for rent for $14,000 Triple Net plus $6,000 Triple Nets or for sale for $300,000. (In the comments section on the listing: "Seller invested over $1.0 million in the past two years. Please do not talk to employees.")

Posted by Happydiner,
a resident of Old Palo Alto,
on Nov 14, 2014 at 5:19 pm

After looking at this place on-line and being intrigued with promised
happy hour and pork bellies, and after calling the restaurant and being assured they were open and happy hour would be varied and delicious, my friend and I showed up and there was no happy hour. "We haven't started that yet" was all they said. The two individuals pictured above were in a tete a tete in a far table and too busy to clarify or help so we left and went to Il Fornaio. I had misgivings about some of the skills of the "administrative" staff.

Posted by Professorville resident,
a resident of Professorville,
on Nov 17, 2014 at 11:54 am

I was really looking forward to trying this restaurant, but I never saw anything about it opening, just looked it up this past weekend and was surprised it opened and closed already. Maybe someone will take this concept over and try again. It seems like a great fresh idea that locals could use.